Robbie Hummel had high hopes of beginning his NBA career this upcoming season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the team’s off-season roster moves may have forced him play overseas. According to SB Nation Minnesota[1] and Twitter[2], the former Purdue standout has agreed to begin his professional basketball career with Obradoiro C.A.B. of Spanish Liga ACB.

Robbie Hummel is reportedly putting his NBA dreams on hold to play in Spain during the 2012-13 season.

Minnesota made use of their second round draft pick by taking Hummel 58th overall with the hope that he could alleviate their scoring woes at the small forward position. During his five-year collegiate career, the 23-year-old averaged 14.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, and shot 44.3 percent from the field. As training camp nears, Hummel understands the difficulty of earning a spot on the roster as a rotation wing player with Chase Budinger, Andrei Kirilenko, Dante Cunningham, and Derrick Williams vying for playing time at the forward positions.

“He can really shoot, and I think he has enough, he has some game, too,” President of Basketball Operations David Kahn said to NBA.com. “He’s not what I would call a flashy passer, but he’s steady. He’s got a beautiful shot with a quick release. In our league, if you can make shots on a consistent basis and you have a little size to you—and he’s 6-8, 6-8 ½—then you have a chance to make the league.”

Obradoiro C.A.B. has already announced their latest signing on the team's website, www.obradoirocab.com.

Playing time and development is necessary for any rookie, but for Hummel it is extremely imperative. Despite leaving Purdue ranked in the top ten for both points (1,772) and rebounds (862), Hummel did not gain much attention averaging 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds off of Minnesota’s bench during summer league play. Obradoiro C.A.B. is not a bad career move because it will allow the 6-foot-8 forward to earn more playing than he would in Minnesota, face European powers FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and show his critics that his surgically repaired knee is nothing to worry about. Hummel will also join fellow Americans Deron Washington, Ebi Ere, and Bernard Hopkins on Obradorio C.A.B. as they try to improve the team’s 13-21 record from last season.

“I thought this season, particularly toward the end of the season, he started to show signs of his return to form from before the injury,” Kahn said. “Robbie was quite a player before his [right knee ACL] injury. Quite a player. In fact, if he hadn’t been hurt I think most people would agree he was a first round pick.”